Byrona Porcher Pinckney Colonna Johnson

Bluffton Icon, “Miss Nonie,” passed away peacefully on September 2, 2021, surrounded by her family, friends and faithful caregivers.

Daughter of the late William Eustace Pinckney and Ella Pritchard Pinckney, she was born October 21, 1922, in Pinckney Colony. She was christened in St. Mary’s in the Woods Catholic Church at an early age. She was educated at Saint Ursuline Academy, Columbia, SC and completed her business degree in Washington, D.C.

Her first marriage to J.B. Johnson (deceased) began their family with a daughter, Margaret “Peggy” Bellinger Johnson Schultz – (deceased) and her husband, J. Carl Schultz Jr.. In 1952, she then married George Samuel Colonna (deceased) and their family grew with two daughters, Sandra Pritchard Jeppesen (Niels), North Franklin, CT; and PollyAnn Pinckney Yeager (Jimmy), Fripp Island, SC. After the death of her second husband, Sam and 50 years after her first marriage she re-betrothed J.B. Johnson in 1987.

The family continued to grow with eight grandchildren: John Carlus Schultz III, Angela Porcher Schultz Wyman, Druella Helmly Schultz, Ashley Lukens McAuliffe (Denis), Samuel Bellinger Friedman, Margaret Bellinger Yeager, Catherine Byrona Yeager, and Mary Pritchard Yeager,

Great-grandchildren: Ella Wyman DuBose (Chris), Ivy Wyman Tuten (Corey), Emma Margaret Wyman, Edward Hampton Wyman Jr., Denis McAuliffe V, and Isobel Catherine McAuliffe. Great-great-grandson Brooks Mikell Tuten.

Siblings: Elizabeth Lawton Darr, Aiken, SC, Catherine Guerard Butler (deceased), Dorothy Pritchard Gnann, Beaufort, SC, Henry Telfair Pinckney, Savannah, GA.

She was affectionately known as "Big Mama" by her family and friends. Her love of Bluffton, the May River, and her home, Rosemary Sunset, is where she loved to garden, entertain and bring her family together. The Bluffton community benefited from her kind and generous spirit. Nonie was an entrepreneurial pioneer when she opened a Gulf Station on Calhoun Street followed by S&N Grocery and service station on Highway 46 – it was the first modern air-conditioned grocery store in Bluffton. She also operated Bluffton Spirit House for many years. She was totally committed to her children and grandchildren, great and great-great-grandchildren.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 am on September 7, 2021 at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church, 31 Saint Gregory Drive, Bluffton, SC 29909. Burial to follow at Bluffton Cemetery, 1166 May River Rd., Bluffton, SC, 29910. In Lieu of flowers the family requests donations to be made to the Bluffton Cemetery Preservation Society, Inc., P.O Box 282, Bluffton, SC 29910.

To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Byrona Porcher Pinckney Colonna Johnson, please visit our Tree Store.